Slavery/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & Moby. Tim is typing a document on his computer. Moby approaches him. MOBY: Beep. TIM: What? MOBY: Beep. Tim responds to Moby without pausing his typing on the computer. Moby narrows his eyes. TIM: I'm working on— As Tim responds to Moby, Moby unplugs the computer. His eyes still narrowed at Tim. TIM: —my report for Mrs. Baxter… why? MOBY: Beep! Moby angrily hands Tim a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I want to know about the history of slavery in America. From, Dwight. Good question. Unfortunately, slavery's history goes back to way before the United States even existed. Early records show that slaves were used thousands of years ago in places like Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. An image shows three men in Ancient Egypt. Two are pulling a rope while the third man is waving a stick threateningly above their heads. In the background, a pyramid can be seen. There is a large part of the pyramid that is incomplete, and men can be seen moving blocks, working to complete it. TIM: Even the Ancient Greeks, the inventors of democracy used slaves as household servants! An image shows two men in Ancient Greece carrying a woman on a litter. The litter is a couch of sorts, and the woman is laid out on it in a full toga eating grapes as she rests. TIM: In Mexico and South America, Spanish conquistadors enslaved the American Indians who lived there. An image shows a Spanish conquistador behind a family of Native Americans with shackles on their feet. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, "conquistador" means "conqueror" in Spanish. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The British colonists in North America enslaved American Indians, too. But that became far less common over the years. An image shows conquistadors looking on at a line of Native American slaves tied together with their hands and feet bound in rope. TIM: Beginning in the early 1600s, African slaves were used for household help and farm work in North America. An image shows African men working in a crop field. TIM: As time went on, the Southern states came to rely on slave labor for their cotton, indigo, and sugar farms or plantations. By the end of the eighteenth century, the African slave trade had transported millions of people to North America. An image shows African men and women chained together and walking up a plank onto a ship. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, the Northern states became more industrial, so they eventually had less of a need for slave labor. An image shows a map of the Northern states, and an inlaid circle shows factory buildings and stores. TIM: Slave trading was a big international business. An image shows an advertisement for a sale of African slaves nailed to the side of a building. TIM: In Africa, merchants would exchange European goods for slaves. An image shows a map of the world, zooming in on the Atlantic Ocean so that eastern North America, western Europe; and western Africa are clearly visible. TIM: They were then sent to the New World, and forced to work on plantations. The crops were sent back to Europe, where they were sold and made into finished goods. Arrows appear on the map, tracing the route that Tim describes. TIM: This was called the triangular trade, and the leg between Africa and the Americas was known as the Middle Passage. An arrow from western Africa to eastern North America appears, representing the Middle Passage. TIM: People were chained together and packed like livestock into cargo holds. They often couldn't move at all, not even to go to the bathroom. Many got sick and died. An animation shows the cargo area of an old sailing ship. There are many people crammed into this space, laying on their backs one next to the other. TIM: Others tried to starve themselves or jump overboard to escape. Over 15 percent of the captives perished while on board. For those who survived, the excruciating journey took months. An arrow traces the route from Africa to the West Indies. TIM: The first stop in the new world was the West Indies- islands in the Caribbean. Some of the enslaved people were kept there as farm laborers. An image shows an African woman gathering crops in a field and an African cutting plants with a machete. TIM: Others were sent to America, where they were sold at auctions. An arrow traces the route from the West Indies to America. An image shows an African family on a stage at an auction. There is a man and a woman. The woman is holding a baby. There are several American men sitting facing the stage. One is raising his hand. TIM: Families were broken up and sold to different owners. An animation shows the American man who was raising his hand at the auction taking the African man out of the building. He is holding him by the arm and neck. The woman and the baby are still on the stage. The baby begins to cry. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, back then, many Americans thought that Africans were inferior people. They were judged because their skin was a different color and because they weren't Christians. An image shows an African man and a bearded white man in a suit holding a Bible and looking disapprovingly at the African man. TIM: Greed was a factor too. Apparently, it was too hard to say no to free labor. The scene zooms in on the white man's eyes, which become dollar signs. TIM: Slaves were workers who had no rights at all. The scene shows the white man and the African man. An animation shows the African man getting smaller and smaller while the white man remains the same size. TIM: Their owners could make them work all day without rest, beat them, and even kill them. It was all legal. MOBY: Beep. TIM: You said it. I'm just telling it like it was, but eventually things did begin to change. In 1808, bringing slaves over from Africa became illegal. Of course there were millions of Africans here already, so slavery in America continued as their children were born into it. The scene changes to show the image of the map of the Atlantic Ocean, with an arrow going from western Africa to eastern North America. A large red circle with a line through it from top left to bottom right appears over the whole image. TIM: By the 1850s, most northern states had outlawed slavery. An image shows a map of North America. Text reads: "United States circa 1850". The northern region is highlighted in blue. Text reads: "slavery illegal". The southern region is highlighted in gray. Text reads: "slavery legal". TIM: The Civil War finally ended slavery throughout America. The scene changes to show an image of the shackles on a slave's hand being broken. TIM: During the war, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all enslaved people in Confederate states were now free. An image shows Abraham Lincoln in front of an American flag. An animation shows a document appear next to him. Text reads: "Emancipation Proclamation". TIM: And the 13th Amendment to the Constitution officially outlawed slavery in 1865, but the effects of slavery didn’t end overnight. African Americans continued to be discriminated against until the Civil Rights movement of the fifties and sixties. Images show Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., people marching in peaceful protest, and police beating African Americans with bats at a protest. TIM: And racism is still a big problem in America today. We're working on it, but we have a way to go. I'd like to think that one day everyone will accept that no matter our race or our background, we're all just people. MOBY: Beep. The scene changes to show Moby frowning. TIM: Well, you too. As far as I'm concerned. MOBY: Beep! Moby smiles. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts